Triple action explosive shrapnel bullet



March 15, 1949.

J. PALAGONIA TRIPLE ACTION EXPLOSIVE SHRAPNEL BULLET Filed Feb. 2, 1945IN V EN TOR.

ATTORNEK Patented Mar. 15, 1949 are,

ENT OFFHC TRIPLE ACTION EXPLOSIVE SHRAPN EL BULLET Joseph RaymondPalagonia, Ridgewood, N. Y. Application February 2, 1945, Serial No.575,762

2 Claims. 1

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in a bullet.

This application is a substitute of my abandoned application depositedin the United States Patent Oflice on October 28, 1940.

More specifically, the present invention proposes the construction of ashrapnel explosive, especially an explosive projectile having threeprojec tiles connected together for unitary flight and explosion, eachof the projectiles being shrapnel carrying.

Still further, it is proposed to provide a device as aforesaid in whichthe three projectiles are disposed in the same plane but at right anglesto each other, two of the projectiles being aligned and togetherintersecting and being secured to the other projectile.

Another object is to provide a bullet as aforesaid having a cylindricalprojectile acting as the carrying agent for the other projectiles, theother projectiles being streamlined similar to the wings of an airplaneto minimize air friction and resistance.

For further comprehension of the invention, and of the objects andadvantages thereof, reference will be had to the following descriptionand accompanying drawings, and to the appended claims in which thevarious novel features of the invention are more particularly set forth.

In the accompanying drawings forming a material part of this disclosure:

Fig. 1 is a side view of a rifle provided with a bullet constructed inaccordance with this invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged axial section through the bullet, the rifle barrelbeing indicated in dot-dash lines.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a bullet constructed in accordance with amodification of this invention, in flight.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3 looking in thedirection of the arrows.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 2 of a bullet constructed in accordancewith a further modification of this invention.

Fig. 6 is a View similar to Fig. 2 of a bullet constructed in accordancewith a further modification of this invention.

The bullet, according to this invention, comprises a longitudinal shelll0 extending in the proposed direction of flight, and two other shells Hand I2 disposed at right angles to shell ID on opposite sides thereof,and being aligned with each other. Shell Ill forms a part of theprojectile, and shells l I and I2 each forms a part of another pro- 2jectile, there being three projectiles to the bullet.

The projectiles of shells ll and i2 are similar and each is connected tothe shell I!) by having its rear end disposed in an orific IS in theshell Ill intermediate its ends. Shells ill, I l and [2 are preferablysecurely fastened together, as by welding The bullets may be made in anysize. For instance they may be made to fit rifles, or they may be madeto be used in small cannons such as mortars. In Fig. 1 the bullet isshown assembled with a rifle I4, the rifle being of a calibre such as a.30-30 and having its barrel end 15 enlarged to receive the rear end ofthe shell Ill. The bullet is projected from the barrel by a chargecontained in the gun barrel and fired in a conventional way. That is tosay, the rifle or cannon, neither of which form a part of thisinvention, will be adapted to project the bullet therefrom.

The shell ID has a main charge of gunpowder it between the orifices l3,that is to say, at a position where it will affect all three projectilesin substantially the same manner.

Each shell has a port I! in its outer end, a firing pin l8 slidablydisposed in the port and coast.- ing at its inner end with an explosivecharge or device ii! in the nose of the shell, a fuse 20 extending fromthe device l9 to the main charge 16, and a charge of shrapnel 2| aroundthe fuse 20. Each fuse 20 ends in guncotton 22 adjacent the charge l6.

The pin l8, device I9, fuse 20 and guncotton 22 forms a combinationfuse, time and percussion mechanism for exploding the main charge 16.Ordinarily the bullet will fire from the pin H in the end of the shell10 and therefore, in some cases if desired, the combination fuse, timeand percussion mechanism may be omitted from the shells H and I2. 1 1

Shell l0 also includes a shrapnel charge behind the main charge It, butif desired this may be omitted and this part of the shell ill paddedwith wads of felt and cotton.

The bullet is especially adapted for shrapnel shooting from small armssuch as infantry rifies or machine guns at close range Where aim is ofminor importance and shrapnel spread is of-major importance. It has beenfound that a single shrapnel tube is not efficient due to its tendencyto over shoot the mark and to pass through the desired area withoutexploding. The shrapnel bullet of the present invention, provided withthe three project les at right angles to each othenis devised toexplode-at its target with more regularity. This is due to the fact thatthe bullet has an effec- 3 tive cross sectional area equal to thedistance from the tip of shell I l to the tip of shell l2, it has threefiring pins [1, any one of which will explode the bullet, and furtherbecause the shells II and i2 retard the flight and give the bullet agreater chance of hitting its target and exploding.

The pins I7 may explode the bullet either by contact with the target orsome adjacent structure, or they may be part of timing mechanism forexploding the bullet after it has travelled a predetermined distance.

The operation of the bullet is as follows:

The bullet is aimed by means of the rifle and discharged from the rifleby the charge in the rifle. This charge may be separate from the bulletor may be contained in a shell connected to the shell l similarly to theway a shell is connected to a solid metal .30-30 rifle slug.

The bullet, after being discharged, travels to its target, which uponbeing hit, actuates the pin I! of shell ID to explode the device l9, setthe fuse 20 afire, and then the guncotton 22, whereupon the main chargeIt is exploded. The main charge IE, on exploding, shatters the shellsIII, II and I2, scattering their shrapnel charge. Thus the bullet has aheavy shrapnel spread in comparison with the calibre of the shell l0.

Should the bullet miss its target, or be deflected by some object, theshells H and i2 would tend to whirl the bullet, causing it to hitsomething near the target. In this way, the chance of one of the threepins being ac tuated is very good and thus the bullet has a maximumchance of exploding at or near its target. Furthermore, as the threeshells are directed in three different directions, the shrapnel has atendency to cover a larger area than it would if it were all stored inone shell.

A bullet constructed in accordance with a modification of this inventionis shown in Figs. 3 and 4. In the main, it is similar to the bullet ofFig. 1 and like parts are designated by like references with an accentadded. The modified bullet distinguishes from the bullet of Figs. 1 and2 in that the shells H and I2 are elliptical in cross section, as isclearly shown in Fig. 4, this shape streamlining the bullet, the shellsH' and I2 acting as wings, enabling the bullet to soar similar to ajet-propelled rocket projectile.

A bullet of the triple-action type constructed in accordance with afurther modification of this invention is shown in Fig, 5. Itdistinguishes from the bullet of Figs. 1 and 2 in that each of theshells l0" and I2" contains an explosive charge l6. In this form of theinvention when the main charge l6" explodes, it causes shells IT to flyeach in opposite directions, and hitting objects in their respectiveareas and also exploding, thus causing damage in three entirelyseparated areas.

A single action bullet having some of the features of the presentinvention is shown in Fig. 6. This bullet has the usual powdercontaining shell 23 adapted to flt in the rear end of a rifle or machinegun barrel. The projectile of this bullet includes a shell l0', a firingpin I'I', powder l9', wads 25, and shot 2l'. This bullet is suitable for.30-30, .50 02.1., or large calibre, and for 20' mm. It may also be madewithout the time fuse 20', being operated by the firing pin l'l' only.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments of myinvention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to theprecise constructions herein disclosed and the right is reserved to allchanges and modifications coming within the scope of the invention asdefined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by United States Letters Patent is:

1. An explosive projectile comprising a cylinder insertable in a gunbarrel and provided with containers extending from opposite sidesthereof and disposed at approximately right angles thereto and locatedinwardly of the forward end of said cylinder, said cylinder having anose at its forward end provided with a firing pin projecting outwardlythereof, each of the containers having a nose at its outer end providedwith a firing pin projecting outwardly thereof and being streamlined incross section, the whole unit having the general form of an airplane andcapable of plane flight when projected, said cylinder being suppliedwith a shrapnel explosive charge located between the inner ends of saidcontainers each of said containers being supplied with a shrapnelexplosive charge at their inner ends adjacent said cylinder, and a fuseextending from each of said firing pins to the explosive charge of therespective cylinder or container.

2. An explosive projectile comprising a hollow longitudinal shell havinga nose at its front end, hollow shells extending at right angles fromdiametrically opposite sides of said longitudinal shell and being incontact with the interior of said longitudinal shell, said hollow shellshaving noses at their outer ends, a firing-pin mounted in each of saidnoses, an explosive charge mounted in said longitudinal shell betweenthe inner ends of said hollow shells, an explosive charge mounted ineach of said hollow shells adjacent the inner ends thereof, fusesextended longitudinally through said shells between said firing pins andthe respective explosive charges, said fuses being of a cross-sectionaldiameter considerably less than the inside cross-sectional diameter ofsaid shells, and shrapnel filling the space about each of said fuses ineach of said shells between the adjacent faces of the respective firingpin and explosive charge.

JOSEPH PALAGONIA.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 697,703 Callaway Apr. 15, 1902940,527 Hale Nov. 16, 1909 945,544 Ziegenfuss Jan. 4, 1910 965,809Gebauer July 26, 1910 1,211,936 Gunter et al Jan. 9, 1917 1,244,298Cutting Oct. 23, 1917 1,275,660 Clark Aug. 13, 1918 1,276,547 Kupec etal Aug. 20, 1918 1,295,176 Koval] Feb. 25, 1919 1,301,907 Close Apr. 29,1919 2,359,192 Beblo Sept. 26, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date4.684 Great Britain 1912 295,964 Italy May 4, 1932 93,748 Sweden Dec.14, 1938

